It's no secret that Angelina Jolie is fond of tattoos; everyone is  familiar with the "Billy Bob" tattoo she got in honor of her now  ex-husband, Billy Bob Thornton, then later had covered up.  And  publicity shots of soccer great David Beckham frequently show his bare  back, revealing the names of his sons tattooed in thick black ink.  But  did you know that these celebrities also have Latin tattoos as well?   Angelina's is on her lower stomach (next to a thick black cross that  covers up a small blue dragon she got while drunk in Amsterdam) and  says, "Quod me netrit me destruit" meaning, "What nourishes me also  destroys me."  David Beckham's Latin phrase is on his left inner  forearm, just below his wife Victoria's name which is misspelled in a  Hindi script.  The phrase reads, "Ut Amem Et Foveam" meaning "So that I  love and cherish."
Although it is now extinct, Latin was once the  universal language spoken in Europe as early as the 1st century B.C.,  and it is a language that we can all relate to as many modern day words  are derived from Latin.  Today, unless you are attending mass at the  Vatican in Rome or in Florida with my grandmother (who still says her  prayers in Latin, as she was taught to do in the 1930's) Latin phrases  are primarily used among doctors (primum non nocere, which means "first,  do no harm") and lawyers (habeas corpus).  In fact, many people still  use Latin today without even realizing it.  Bona fide is Latin for "good  faith", ad hoc means "for this purpose" and quid pro quo means  "something for something", which is used in modern day banter to mean  "tit for tat."
Luckily, unlike the Hebrew and Arabic  words and phrases tattoos I discussed previously, Latin phrases are  fairly easy to translate for the sake of tattooing.  Wikipedia offers an  extensive list of Latin phrases, many of which make for beautiful and inspirational tattoos.  Yuni.com also features a long list of common Latin phrases.
As  with any tattoo that is done in a foreign language not your own, make  sure you do your homework.  Double check your translation with several  sources.  Unfortunately, as the Latin language is extinct, you won't be  able to find a native speaker.  Instead, ensure your translation is  correct by either using several online translators or confirming it's  accuracy with a Latin scholar. Angelina Jolie's Latin tattoo "What nourishes me also destroys me"
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